Machine for dispensing flaked ice



June 9, 1964 M|HALEK 3,136,452

MACHINE FOR DISPENSING FLAKED ICE Filed Aug. 4, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 men Z a:

EMERY MIHALEK 62km; *Y/MJ June 9, 1964 E. MIHALEK 3,136,452

MACHINE FOR DISPENSING FLAKED ICE Filed Aug. 4, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I Q fi n EZEHZG:

EMERY MIHALEK L- .HjZ Z5 June 9, 1964 E. MIHALEK 3,136,452

MACHINE FOR DISPENSING FLAKED ICE Filed Aug. 4, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 EMERY MIHALEK United States Patent 3,136,452 MACHINE FOR DISPENSING FLAKED ICE Emery Mihalelr, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Hershey Mfg. Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Aug. 4, 1961, Ser. No. 129,313 3 Claims. (Cl. 22280) This invention relates to a new and improved machine adapted to dispense ice supplied to the machine in the form of flakes.

One object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved dispensing machine adapted to receive a relatively large quantity of ice in the form of flakes from existing equipment of the type which produces ice flakes on a continuous basis, the dispensing machine being adapted to deliver the flaked ice as needed in a pitcher. bucket or the like.

A further object is to provide a new and improved dispensing machine of the foregoing character in which the ice flakes are stored in a hopper or bin and are raised from the lower end of the hopper to an elevated discharge spout by a conveyor system which may be operated as needed to deliver the desired quantity of flaked ice.

Another object is to provide a dispensing machine of the foregoing character in which the conveyor system includes a tube leading from the lower end of the hopper, a feed screw for pushing the flaked ice into the tube and upwardly through the tube, an agitator in the hopper to provide a steady flow of the ice flakes to the screw, and a device at the upper end of the tube for reflaking the ice and delivering it to the discharge spout.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved dispensing machine of the foregoing character in which the agitator includes means for stirring the flaked ice in the hopper.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following description, taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a general perspective view of flaked ice dispenser to be described as an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an elevational section, taken generally along a line 22 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the dispenser with various parts broken away and shown in section.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section, taken generally along a line 4-4 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational section, taken generally along a line 55 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary diagrammatical elevational view showing details of the drive for the dispensing machine, the view being taken generally as indicated by the line 6-6 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a block circuit diagram of the flaked ice dispenser.

As already indicated, the drawings illustrate a machine 10 for dispensing ice in the form of flakes. As shown in FIG. 1, the machine 10 has an outer housing or cabinet 12, which is generally rectangular in form. The ice flakes may be delivered to the machine 10 by an ice-making machine of the well-known type adapted to supply ice in the form of flakes or chips. The ice flakes are dropped into the machine 10 through an opening 14 in the upper wall 16 of the cabinet 12. The ice-making machine may be placed on top of the cabinet 12 over the opening 14, as indicated by the outline 18b in broken lines in FIG. 1.

The flaked ice, which enters the machine 10 through the opening 14, drops into a bin or hopper 20, which is mounted within the cabinet 12. To retard the melting of the ice, the bin 29 may be insulated with a suitable heat insulating material, disposed between the bin and the walls of the cabinet 12.

The illustrated bin 20 has an upper section 22 which flares downwardly so that the lower end of the upper section is wider than the upper end, as shown to advantage in FIG. 2. This construction facilitates the movement of the flaked ice downwardly through the bin 20 and tends to prevent the flaked ice from caking up and forming bridges across the walls of the bin.

The bin 20 has a lower section 24 which contains a pair of agitators 26a and 26b, and a feed screw 28. The lower section 24 has a bottom wall 30 which includes a central trough-shaped portion 32, in which the feed screw 28 is mounted, as shown to advantage in FIG. 5. The trough portion 32 is substantially semicylindrical in shape. It will be seen that the feed screw 28 fits closely within the trough portion 32.

The bottom wall also includes larger cylindrically curved trough portions 34a and 34b, in which the agitators 26a and 26b are mounted. The trough portions 34a and 34b are disposed on the opposite sides of the central trough portion 32.

It will be seen that the agitators 26a and 26!) comprise shafts 36a and 36b, which are on the same horizontal level but are disposed over the trough portions 34a and 34b. The shaft portions 36a and 36b are adapted to be driven in opposite directions by a drive train 38, shown to best advantage in FIG. 6. In this case, the shaft 36a is driven clockwise, while the shaft 36b is driven counterclockwise.

The illustrated drive 38 comprises meshing gears 49a and 4012 which are mounted on the shafts 36a and 36b. A pinion 42 meshes with the gear 40a and is secured to a gear 44. It will be seen that a pinion 46 meshes with the gear 44 and is secured to a gear 48. A pinion 50 drives the gear 48 and is connected to a pulley 52. A belt 54 connects the pulley 52 to a smaller pulley 56, mounted on the shaft 58 of an electric motor 64).

A push button switch 62 may be mounted on the front of the cabinet 12 to operate the motor 60. The operator actuates the switch 62 when flaked ice is to be disposed into a pitcher, bucket or the like. A foot pedal switch 64 may also be provided so that the operator may operate the machine when his hands are not free to operate the push button.

The agitator shafts 36a and 36b are formed with a plurality of stirring rods or spokes 66, which radiate from the shafts and are arranged in spiral patterns, as will be evident from FIGS. 4 and 5. The spokes 66 on the two shafts 36a and 36!) mesh with each other so that the spokes on one shaft pass between the spokes on the other shaft. Any bridges or cakes that may tend to form in the flaked ice are immediately broken up so that the ice flows freely to the feed screw 28. It will be seen that the outer ends of the spokes 66 pass closely along the cylindrically curved trough portions 34a and 34b- The outer ends of the spokes also move closely past the screw 28. In this way, the spokes assist in breaking up any cakes of ice that may tend to form on the screw 28 and the inner walls of the trough portions 34a and 34b.

In addition, each of the agitator shafts 36a and 36b is provided with a cutting or chopping blade 68, which is mounted on the outer ends of a pair of spokes 70, extending radially from the shaft. The blades 68 extend parallel to the shafts 36a and 36b. As shown, each blade 68 has a relatively thick trailing edge 72 but tapers to a relatively thin leading edge 74. When the shafts 36a and 361) are rotated, the blades 68 swing around through the flaked ice and chop up any balls that may tend to form in the ice. The blades 68 move closely past the screw 28 and the inner walls of the trough portions 34a and 34b and thus are effective to prevent ice from accumulating on the screw and the trough portions. The circular paths of the blades 68 overlap, but the blades are oriented so that they do not strike each other. Moreover, the blades are located so that they do not strike the spokes 66 on the opposite agitator. It will be seen that the spokes 66 are confined to approximately /2 of the radial space around each of the shafts 36a and 36b, and that the blades 68 are located in the other half of the space.

The combined stirring action of the rods 66 and cutting action of the blades 68 is much more effective in assuring a continuous flow of flaked ice to the screw 28, than would be expected from a consideration of the individual actions of these components. Neither the stirring rods alone nor the chopping blades alone are normally suflicient to assure a smooth and continuous flow of ice flakes to the screw 28, but the combined action of these components is effective to break up all bridges, balls and cakes in the ice and to maintain the ice in a flaked condition so that it may be fed freely by the screw 23.

Any water that may be formed in the bin due to thawing of the ice is carried away by drain pipes '78, three of which are illustrated. It will be seen from FIG. 2 that the drain pipes are connected to the lower extremities of the trough portions 32, 34a and 34b.

The pinion 46 and the gear 48 are mounted on a shaft portion 80 of the screw 28, so that the screw is driven by the motor 60. The shaft portion 80 extends out of one end of the ice bin 20. The rotation of the screw is effective to feed the flaked ice toward the other end of the bin and into a tube or conduit 32. It will be seen from FIG. 3 that the screw 28 has an end portion 84 which extends a substantial distance into the entrance portion 66 of the conduit 82. In this Way, the flaked ice is positively fed into the conduit 82.

The entrance portion 86 of the conduit 82 is straight, but the conduit then curves upwardly so as to carry the flaked ice to an elevated discharge position. At its upper end, the conduit 82 is connected to a reflaker 88 which comprises a generally cylindrical housing 90, in which a rotatable star wheel 92 is mounted. The illustrated star wheel 92 is formed with four vanes or blades 94. A discharge spout 96 extends downwardly from the reflaker 88. It will be seen that the conduit 82 and the discharge spout 96 are connected tangentially to the housing 90. The rotating star wheel 94 cuts and loosens up the flaked ice as it emerges from the conduit 82. The star wheel throws the flaked ice downwardly through the spout 94. Thus, the ice is dispensed in the form of loose flakes, even though the ice may tend to cake, to some extent, in the conduit 82.

The spout 96 discharges into a chamber 98 formed in the front portion of the cabinet 12. A housing 100 may be mounted inside the cabinet 12 to form the chamber 96. An opening 102 is provided in the front wall 104 of the cabinet 12 so that a pitcher, bucket or other receptacle may be inserted into the chamber 98 to receive the ice from the spout 96. In this case, a sliding door 106 is provided to close the opening 102. The door is slidable upwardly and downwardly along tracks 108. The door 106 is normally kept closed to minimize the entrance of heat into the cabinet 12. As shown, the door 106 is made of transparent plastic or other suitable material. A grill or perforated lower .wall 110 is provided in the chamber 98 to permit any water or stray ice flakes to drop dowm wardly into a compartment 112. A drain pipe 114 is connected to the compartment 112 to carry away water from the compartment.

The star wheel 92 of the reflaker 88 is rotated by an electric motor 116, which is also operated under the control of the push button switch 62, or the foot pedal 64. When either the push button 62 or the food pedal 64 is operated, the motors and 116 are energized. The motor 60 drives the feed screw 28 and the agitators 26a and 2612, while the motor 116 drives the star wheel 92 of all. the reflaker 88. A control arrangement may be provided to start the motor 116 slightly before the motor 60 and to run the motor 116 for a short interval after the motor 60 has been stopped, so that the reflaker cannot become jammed with ice flakes.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 7, the motor 60 for driving the feed screw 28 and the agitator shafts 36a and 36b may be energized through a timing device which delays the energization of the motor 60 after either of the control switches 62 and 64 has been closed. The timing device 130 may take the form of a conventional time delay relay, which will be well known to those skilled in the art. The motor 116 for the reflaking cutter 92 may be energized through a timing device 132 which delays the deenergization of the motor after the switches 62 and 64 have been opened. The timing device 132 may take the form of a conventional slow release relay, which will be well known to those skilled in the art. The control switches 62 and 64 may be connected in parallel so that either is effective to energize the timing device 130 and 132.

The spokes 66 on the agitators 26a and 26b stir up the ice flakes in the bin 20, while the blades 68 chop up any balls or bridges that may tend to form. Thus, the flaked ice flows freely to the screw 28, which pushes the ice flakes into the conduit 82. At the upper end of the conduit, the star wheel 92 refiakes the ice and throws the flakes downwardly through the discharge spout 96. A pitcher, bucket or other receptacle may be inserted into the chamber 98 to receive the ice flakes dispensed by the machine.

It will be evident that the flaked ice dispenser eliminates any need for handling the flaked ice manually. Thus, the machine insures that the flaked ice will be dispensed in an entirely sanitary manner. A bucket or pitcher of ice may be dispensed from the bin without any possibility of contaminating the flakes which remain in the bin.

The dispensing machine is capable of delivering a large quantity of flaked ice in a short time, if necessary. The supply of flaked ice in the dispensing machine may then be replenished over a longer period of time by the continuous action of the ice-making machine which delivers its output to the dispensing machine. The ice dispensing machine eliminates any tendency for the ice to cake up or form bridges in the machine. Thus, the dispensing machine is dependable and efficient in operation.

Various modifications, alternative constructions and equivalents may beprovided without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention, as exemplified in the foregoing description and defined in the fol lowing claims.

I claim:

I. In a machine for dispensing flaked ice, the combination comprising a bin for receiving and holding a supply of the flaked ice, a tube connected to the lower end of said bin at one end thereof and leading upwardly therefrom, a feed screw in the lower end of said bin for feeding the flaked ice into said tube, agitator means in said bin for agitating the flaked ice and thereby causing it to flow downwardly to said feed screw, said agitator means comprising a shaft, a plurality of stirring rods extending from said shaft, and means for moving said shaft in said bin, a first rotary electric motor for driving said feed screw and said agitator means, a reflaker connected to the upper end of said tube and comprising a housing for receiving the ice from said tube, said housing being disposed substantially above the level of said feed screw, a star wheel rotatable in said housing and having a plurality of blades for reflaking the ice, a discharge spout leading downwardly from said housing, a second rotary electric motor for rotating said star wheel, and means for energizing said first and second motors so that the flaked ice will be dispensed from said spout.

2. In a machine for dispensing flaked ice, the combination comprising a receptacle for receiving and holding a supply of the flaked ice, a conduit connected to the lower end portion of said receptacle at one end thereof, a feed screw disposed in the lower end of said receptacle for feeding the flaked ice to said conduit, an agitator in said receptacle and comprising a movable shaft and a plurality of agitating elements on said shaft for causing the flaked ice to flow downwardly in said receptacle to said feed screw, said conduit extending upwardly from the lower portion of said receptacle, a reflaker housing connected to the upper end of said conduit for receiving the ice therefrom, said housing being disposed substantially abovethe level of said feed screw, a rotary cutter in said housing for reflaking the ice, a discharge spout leading downwardly from said housing, and drive means for driving said feed screw, said agitator and said rotary cutter so that the flaked ice will be discharged from said spout.

3. In a machine for dispensing flaked ice, the combination comprising a receptacle for receiving and holding a supply of the flaked ice, a conduit connected to the lower end portion of said receptacle at one end thereof, a feed screw disposed in the lower end of said receptacle for feeding the flaked ice to said conduit, an agitator in said receptacle and comprising a movable shaft and a plurality of agitating elements on said shaft for causing the flaked ice to flow downwardly in said receptacle to said feed screw, said conduit extending upwardly from the lower portion of said receptacle, a reflaker housing connected to the upper end of said conduit for receiving the ice therefrom, said housing being disposed substantially above the level of said feed screw, a rotary cutter in said housing for refiaking the ice, a discharge spout leading downwardly from said housing, a first rotary electric motor for driving said feed screw and said agitator, a second rotary electric motor for rotating said rotary cutter, and means for energizing said first and second motors so that the flaked ice will be dispensed from said spout.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,190,168 Holly July 4, 1916 1,851,044 Genovesi Mar. 29, 1932 2,327,226 Taylor Aug. 17, 1943 2,620,988 Tellier Dec. 9, 1952 2,721,007 Matthews Oct. 18, 1955 2,927,440 Kohl Mar. 8, 1960 3,021,035 Hill Feb. 13, 1962 

3. IN A MACHINE FOR DISPENSING FLAKED ICE, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A RECEPTACLE FOR RECEIVING AND HOLDING A SUPPLY OF THE FLAKED ICE, A CONDUIT CONNECTED TO THE LOWER END PORTION OF SAID RECEPTACLE AT ONE END THEREOF, A FEED SCREW DISPOSED IN THE LOWER END OF SAID RECEPTACLE FOR FEEDING THE FLAKED ICE TO SAID CONDUIT, AN AGITATOR IN SAID RECEPTACLE AND COMPRISING A MOVABLE SHAFT AND A PLURALITY OF AGITATING ELEMENTS ON SAID SHAFT FOR CAUSING THE FLAKED ICE TO FLOW DOWNWARDLY IN SAID RECEPTACLE TO SAID FEED SCREW, SAID CONDUIT EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID RECEPTACLE, A REFLAKER HOUSING CONNECTED TO THE UPPER END OF SAID CONDUIT FOR RECEIVING THE ICE THEREFROM, SAID HOUSING BEING DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE THE LEVEL OF SAID FEED SCREW, A ROTARY CUTTER IN SAID HOUSING FOR REFLAKING THE ICE, A DISCHARGE SPOUT LEADING DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID HOUSING, A FIRST ROTARY ELECTRIC MOTOR FOR DRIVING SAID FEED SCREW AND SAID AGITATOR, A SECOND ROTARY ELECTRIC MOTOR FOR ROTATING SAID ROTARY CUTTER, AND MEANS FOR ENERGIZING SAID FIRST AND SECOND MOTORS SO THAT THE FLAKED ICE WILL BE DISPENSED FROM SAID SPOUT. 